Oxy

In his Jan. 3 letter, Neil Buttram of Occidental Petroleum Corp. indicated that Elizabeth Mortimer's letter of Dec. 27, plus three others, had made totally unfounded attacks on Oxy, particularly on its operations at the Pico-Doheny oil drilling site in West Los Angeles. To anyone aware of the situation, his letter contained a lot of malarkey which would indicate that he didn't know what had been going on there for the last 25 years. Contacts I have had with people in this area show just the opposite from what he claimed.

Three years after it approved a version of the opioid analgesic OxyContin designed to discourage the painkiller's abuse, the Food and Drug Administration has effectively barred the original form of the drug from ever reaching the legal U.S. market. The agency says it will approve no new applications from generic drug manufacturers to produce cheaper versions of OxyContin in its original form. OxyContin has been one of the nation's most abused prescription painkillers, in part because as those addicted to the potent drug built up tolerance for it, they could easily ground it up or dissolve it in water, making the potent extended-release drug easy to snort or inject for a faster, more intense high.

Regarding "Hammer Says Oxy Won't Prevent a Hostile Takeover" (May 22), the headline makes it incorrectly appear that Occidental would not prevent a hostile takeover effort. Because of Occidental's strong financial position and the loyalty of the stockholders, whose interests are well taken care of by the mangagement, it is not necessary that we take extraordinary action to position our company to defend itself against a hostile takeover. With almost $1 billion in working capital and available, but unused, credit commitments of almost $2 billion and the strong managment team we have in place, Occidental is in an excellent position to vigorously rebuff any raider.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s board of directors issued an unusual statement Monday, deploring what it called "inaccurate speculation" and saying that there was "no fight at the top" involving the company's senior management. Analysts said that the statement was unlikely to quell questions and confusion among shareholders over the Westwood company's succession plans -- including reports that Chairman Ray R. Irani was trying to force out Chief Executive Stephen I. Chazen. The statement by the Occidental board mentioned that last year "presented challenges, including disappointing stock performance.

Once again, both political parties will have a chance to demonstrate that "conventional wisdom" is an oxy-moron! TIM I. MARTIN Corona

What an ironic twist for Occidental to label families opposing the industrialization of residential and recreational areas "elitists." As an ordinary housewife trying to survive Oxy's industrial harassment (the reader lives near the oil derrick on Olympic Boulevard), allow me to tell you the true meaning of this word. Elitists are the Oxy executives who spend their weekends at the country clubs while ordering a derrick to bombard our homes with noise morning, noon and night. Elitists are the former city hall officials who pushed the oil drilling in our densely populated residential neighborhood and then joined Oxy's payroll.

"Elitists" in the Oxy case are not Pacific Palisades families, or millions of Californians trying to save the beautiful coastline from industrial oil drilling, but an oil tycoon and two mayors, who sold their soul to the Almighty Dollar. "Elitist" Chief Executive Armand Hammer, a multibillionaire, would devastate the people's beachfront with Oxy's blasted rig. Oxy's rig is an industrial eyesore. Westside homes have already been ruined by the Pariah help of oil pipelines. Thousands of feet are hauled up from the wells and stacked daily alongside Oxy's unsightly rig. From morning, noon to night, Oxy's rig works repeatedly over 56 oil and gas wells.

Re "The Bush Oil-Igarchy Protection Package," Commentary, Feb. 22: Arianna Huffington makes the ludicrous argument that campaign contributions made by Occidental Petroleum during the Clinton era induced the Bush administration to propose funding a plan to protect an Oxy pipeline in Colombia. Last year, terrorist attacks on the pipeline, operated by the Colombian government, cost Colombia a half-billion dollars. The government gets 85 cents of every dollar of revenue. The disruptions devastated the state of Arauca (population 240,000)

Occidental Petroleum's scheme to drill along the Pacific Palisades beachfront, an environmentally sensitive area, is once again being palmed off as perfectly "safe and sound." Never a truer word spoken through falser teeth of a rig's jaw. There appears to be two Oxy's--the factual and the fictional. This one exists only on paper: A simply marvelous creation of Oxy's compatibility with family living. Illusionary, the PR picture conjures up oil stroked from sweet smelling wells and gas simply processed like a formula for baby's milk.

What a surprise to read that Bradley treats ordinary people with the same consideration as he does former city aides turned lobbyists. Excuse me for not applauding. But I must speak as I find. Case in point: On behalf of Westside residents living next to Occidental Petroleum's gas processing site, I begged Bradley to enforce fundamental zoning laws. Please stop Oxy pulling up tons of metal pipelines from the oil pits during families' dinner hour. Please order Oxy to cover the skeletal frame derrick in a soundproof unit.

Despite efforts by law enforcement and public health officials to curb prescription drug abuse, drug-related deaths in the United States have continued to rise, the latest data show. Figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that drug fatalities increased 3% in 2010, the most recent year for which complete data are available. Preliminary data for 2011 indicate the trend has continued. The figures reflect all drug deaths, but the increase was propelled largely by prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, according to just-released analyses by CDC researchers.

A top DEA official is calling on federal regulators to impose tougher rules on the way pharmaceutical companies market narcotic painkillers to physicians, noting that such drugs are involved in more than twice as many deaths as heroin and cocaine combined. Joseph T. Rannazzisi, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's Office of Diversion Control, urged the Food and Drug Administration in a letter to adopt stricter limits on OxyContin, Vicodin and similar medications to "safeguard the American public.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. and ConocoPhillips posted lower earnings but still beat analyst expectations, leading off what is expected to be a weaker third-quarter earnings performance for the U.S. oil and gas industry compared with a year earlier. Occidental, the nation's fourth-biggest oil and gas company, reported net income of $1.4 billion, or $1.70 a share, compared with a profit of $1.8 billion, or $2.18 a share, in the third quarter of 2011. Analysts had been expecting the Westwood company to report $1.63 a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. of Westwood led off what is expected to be a lower third-quarter earnings performance for the oil and gas industry compared to a year ago. But the company still made a $1.4-billion profit while setting another production record. Occidental is the nation's fourth biggest oil and gas company. It's $1.4-billion and $1.70-a-share performance compared with a profit of $1.8 billion and $2.18 a share in the third quarter of 2011. The main difference in performance involved lower commodity prices.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. kicked off the oil industry's fourth-quarter earnings results Wednesday. It  announced a net profit increase of 35% to $1.63 billion compared to the same quarter a year ago as the company rode the crest of a high oil-price wave and record U.S. crude production levels. Westwood-based Occidental is the nation's fourth largest oil exploration and production company. It has a reputation among analysts as being one of the industry's best managed firms. In 2011, Occidental and the rest of the oil industry enjoyed the highest average oil prices ever, but analysts said the company is built to maximize earnings even when oil prices are low. "In our view," said Phil Weiss, an oil industry analyst with Argus Research, "Occidental's low cost structure and use of enhanced oil-recovery techniques to increase production and build reserves will enable it to maintain strong cash flow and profitability in almost any price environment.

Consuming opioid pain relievers such as codeine, oxycodone or hydrocodone just before pregnancy or early in pregnancy increases the risk of certain birth defects, especially congenital heart defects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Wednesday. The warning extends to such prescription painkillers as Vicodin, OxyContin and Tylenol-3, as well as a variety of generic versions of the drugs. Although there is an increased risk of some major types of birth defects from exposure to the drugs, "the absolute risk for any individual woman is relatively modest," said epidemiologist Cheryl S. Broussard of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, who led a study of the drugs that will be published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology . The findings come from the ongoing CDC-sponsored National Birth Defects Prevention Study , the largest study of birth defects ever performed in the United States, covering pregnant women in 10 states, including California.

Nearly all of the speakers who helped open the Alzheimer's Assn. Center at Cal State Northridge on Friday have been deeply affected by the degenerative disease. Actress Shelley Fabares, who starred in the television programs "The Donna Reed Show" and "Coach," lost her mother eight years ago to Alzheimer's. Former Pasadena Mayor Katie Nack's husband is in the latter stages of the disease. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky watches a close relative struggle with some symptoms.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. was buying American on Friday, announcing major acquisitions of more than $3.2 billion in crude and natural gas assets in North Dakota and southern Texas, in what may signal heightened energy-company interest in building up domestic production. The Westwood company, the nation's fourth-largest oil and gas exploration outfit, also said it had sold its operations in Argentina for $2.5 billion and would increase holdings in pipelines while boosting dividends to shareholders.

Since 2007, members of the Achuar tribe, indigenous to Peru's Amazon rain forest, have been fighting to have their class-action suit against Occidental Petroleum tried in the United States. The Achuar allege that over a 30-year period, the Westwood-based oil company dumped millions of gallons of wastewater into their rivers and disposed of waste in unlined pits, sickening people and contaminating the land. The company, they maintain, should be held accountable in California courts. This week the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, overturning a lower court ruling that said Maynas Carijano vs. Occidental Petroleum should be tried in Peru.